Oral electrolyte rehydration solutions are typically used to correct, manage, or prevent the progress of dehydration that may occur in acute childhood diarrhea of infants or young children. An example of such an oral electrolyte rehydration solution may be found in Belgian Patent Document No. 1001185 entitled "Oral Composition for Rehydration and Nutrition Especially Of Young Children." However, many infants or young children are reluctant to take these oral electrolyte rehydration solutions, as well as many other orally administered medications, because they find such solutions distasteful. With respect to oral electrolyte rehydration solutions, the reluctance is due, at least in part, to the salty taste of the electrolyte salts in the rehydration solution. Reluctance by infants or young children to take such oral electrolyte rehydration solutions can prolong the symptoms, dangers, and discomfort of dehydration.
The reluctance by infants and small children to take oral medications of any type that are distasteful is a well recognized and wide-spread problem among all pediatric medication manufacturers. One example of an effort to overcome this reluctance is shown by the cough syrup manufacturers' provision of cherry flavored cough suppressant and decongestant syrup solutions. Because these flavored solutions appear to be more palatable to the infants and young children, their reluctance to taking such medication can usually be overcome.
In addition to cherry flavoring, tutti-frutti flavors (bubble gum like flavors) appear to be attractive to infants and young children. Some tutti-frutti flavors can contain allyl esters such as allyl butyrate, allyl caproate, allyl hexanoate and/or allyl caprylate. While these allyl esters are safe and acceptable flavor ingredients, they may exhibit somewhat elevated toxicity levels in infants or young children suffering from dehydration because they are in a compromised state of health and because the oral electrolyte rehydration solutions are necessarily structured to be attractive to them, there is an invitation to either intentional or accidental over-consumption. To reduce any risks, such allyl esters would generally not be preferable flavor components in combination with an oral electrolyte rehydration solution.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a flavor composition for an oral electrolyte rehydration solution that will make such a solution more palatable for infants and children. It is also preferable that the flavor composition for the oral electrolyte rehydration solution be innocuous if accidentally over-consumed.